Black Dusk
by Jo Fool
Summary: Something is stalking Forks. 14 years after her birth, in an attempt to help the Quileutes unravel the mystery, Renesmee returns with her family to her hometown. But what they discover is far from what they could ever imagine... Please R
1. Prologue

-------------------------------------------------------------- Prologue -------------------------------------------------------------

Worse than knowing you're about to die. Worse than staring your murderer right in the face. Worse than having them approach you, know your thoughts, know your tactics. Worse than having Death himself stand directly in front of you, ready to take your life. Worse than all of this?

Watching Death, instead, take the life of the person you can not live without. Watching the reason for your existence weaken and perish before your very eyes and standing there helpless, mercilessly still alive. Watching them choke on the air they can't breath as the poison runs through their veins.

This is something neither of you can survive.


	2. Return

----------------------------------------------------------------- Return --------------------------------------------------------------

I woke up worried, my sheets knotted around my legs. I already knew what time it was, 3.42am; the same time it was when I woke up the last three mornings. But there was something different about this waking; I wasn't alone. All my anxiety faded from me as I heard the most comforting sound I could think of right beside me; his heartbeat. I rolled over to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Jacob smiled at me, his teeth luminescent in the dark. I almost smiled back, but then I remembered that he left, with no explanation.

"Hey." He mused.

"Hello." I glared back at him.

"Sorry I didn't say goodbye. You were asleep, I didn't want to wake you."

"You could have phoned."

"I didn't spend much time on 2 legs. It's difficult to dial without fingers." He gave me a sheepish grin; it only slightly melted my hard expression. "I am sorry. I ran back as fast as I could."

There was a huge sense of relief, knowing that Jake was here, safe, with me, but it was overshadowed by concern for why he had been away. "Where did you go?"

"Forks."

"Forks?" This information startled me. What had happened that would force Jacob to go to Forks with no goodbyes? Was everyone okay? Leah, Quil, the rest of the pack? Or worse, Charlie? "Why?"

He heard the panic in my voice. "Everyone's fine, relax. It's just…" He stopped. Jake looked anxious, the way he did when he didn't know how to word something or when something significant had happened.

"What? What is it?" His hesitation didn't help me to relax.

"Sam's son, Toby. He… he made the change." Jake's expression showed just as well as his voice the confusion he felt.

"As in… he's a wolf now? Like you, and Sam, and Leah. A wolf?" The words fell out my mouth in sporadic stutters, as incomprehensible as my thoughts.

"Yes." I thought about what Jake had just told me. Toby was a wolf now; a werewolf. But how could Toby be a wolf, he couldn't be any older than 13? And why would someone else change, there hadn't been any vampires in Forks for over 12 years. Jacob knew what I was thinking, I didn't have to ask him anything. "We don't know why. There aren't any traces of any vampires anywhere near the town. The closest trail we found was just north of Seattle, and that was about a week old." I lay still for a moment, absorbing what Jake was telling me. Toby had made the change, but there wasn't any reason for it - no vampires to cause any need for another werewolf on the reservation.

"That's so weird." Is all I could say.

"Tell me about it. Everyone's going mad back home, no one understands." Jacob sighed, frustrated. Another thought occurred to me.

"Wait, why did you have to go back? And why was it so urgent?"

"Yeah, well, Leah called, and told me there was something I needed to hear, as a wolf. When I made the change, I could hear him."

"Toby? Was he okay? Did he know what was happening?" I was practically merging all my questions into one long stream of sound. Jacob looked almost amused under his concern.

"Relax Ness, he's fine. He wasn't freaking out, like everyone else did their first time. Sam had told him everything, he'd even seen his dad as a wolf, he was just a little surprised you know, he didn't expect to be… well, the same."

"Oh. That still doesn't explain why you left." Jake was holding out on me.

"Well, the thing was, we could all hear him."

It took me a moment to understand the significance of this fact. "All of you? Like, everyone?" Everyone could hear Toby's thoughts? But Sam and Jake had different packs, how could they both hear Toby's thoughts?

"Yeah. Turns out he needed to choose a pack. Of course we didn't know that, there's never been two packs before, so at first everyone was a bit panicked, we thought it maybe meant another pack had been created. Anyway, he needed to meet us all, both packs, before he could choose, so I had to go back. I can't really explain how, I mean, I've met Toby heaps of times. It was like induction though, we all needed to be there." Jake always looked so much older, so much more influential when he spoke about his pack traditions. It was almost reverential.

"So who did he choose?" Had Jacob's pack grown on the last three days? I never thought that I would be asking that before. Someone's pack had grown, for no apparent reason. It couldn't be anything good.

"Sam, obviously. It would be a bit rude not to choose your dad. I reckon Sam will give up his title to Toby now, and just be human. Must be pretty weird having an Heir."

"Freaky." I teased.

"Yeah, just the usual." He gave me a huge smile, and I returned it. I was happy to have him home. The worry almost killed me while he was gone.

"Don't you ever leave like that again. If you have to go, take me, and if you can't, say goodbye next time."

"Sure, sure. I mean, hopefully there won't be a next time, but if there is, I promise to say goodbye. You know, it was just as difficult for me." He moved in to kiss me, but I wasn't playing ball tonight.

"Not a chance. You left me for three days without one word. You don't get to touch me for at least 24 hours."

"Oh come on Nessie, don't be like that." Complaints were always Jacob's forte.

"That's Miss. Cullen to you." He looked at me with a pained expression, but there seemed to be something else behind his eyes, irritation maybe.

"Yeah, I guess I deserve that. I'm sorry. I missed you so much. I'm glad I'm home." And with that, my indignation crumbled.

"Me too." I hugged closer to his chest. His skin felt, amazingly, even better than usual after the separation. He smelled good after running through the forest. Like trees and mud; like Jacob. There were small bits of twig and leaf locked in his hair. "Have you told the others?"

"No, I came straight here." He kissed my forehead lightly, squeezing me gently with his arms.

"Guess that explains the fashion statement." I motioned towards his bird's nest hair-do. "We should go tell them now. Carlisle will want to know about Toby. Plus, Mom will be glad to know you're back." I smiled widely at him and began to shuffle out of the bed. He pulled me back to him.

"Ness, come on, it's 3am, can't we just wait till the morning?" He pleaded at me with his most desperate face, it almost made me change my mind.

"You can sleep later." I touched my hand lightly to Jake's face, letting him feel that I was concerned about what Toby's transformation meant and that it was important to let Carlisle and my dad know. I still liked to 'show' Jake things the old fashioned way. It was much more powerful when I made contact, skin to skin; there are emotions and feeling behind the thoughts, as opposed to throwing them at people, when it's just a message. I was getting stronger though, I was learning quickly, and Dad helped as much as he could, now that we knew I could project my thoughts, without physical contact, to whomever I liked.

I moved completely out of the bed and made my way to the dresser. Jacob made a loud groan and huffed out of bed behind me, deciding either that I was right, or just to tired to challenge me. He picked up the cell from the bedside table and handed it to me.

"You should call them first, we don't want to interrupt unannounced." I could hear the smirk in his voice as he pulled on his T-shirt, the one he had worn when he left from the looks of the dirt stains.

"Jake, a clean one, please." He looked emptily at me, groaned again and changed his shirt. Someone answered the phone on the second ring.

"Hello?" Carlisle greeted me from the other end.

"Hey, Carlisle, it's Nessie."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Jake's back."

"Oh, good. Alice thought that might be the case." Carlisle sounded as though he didn't know whether to be annoyed or relieved. After all, Jake had abandoned everyone, not just me. "When did he get back?"

"About 20 minutes ago. Listen, can we come over, Jake's got something important to tell everyone." I tired not to make my announcement sound too weighted, worried I would cause unnecessary alarm and add to the anxiety of Jake's departure.

"Of course. Shall I round everyone up?" Carlisle was always one step ahead of me.

"Could you? Thanks Carlisle, we won't be long."

"See you soon." He answered. I closed the phone.


	3. Decision

------------------------------------------------------------- Decision --------------------------------------------------------------

Jake and I walked hand in hand to the penthouse; neither of us wanted to run round the town to get there, despite it being a faster journey; we were both tired, from worry and exhaustion, and it felt wonderful to be together again. Every small separation from Jake felt like a million years of purgatory. It wasn't busy on the streets, so no one eyed us suspiciously in our jeans and t-shirts. It couldn't have been warmer than 58 degrees outside, not that the temperature mattered to Jake or I, but we did often get odd looks from passers by in their snow coats and woollen hats while we sported linen and cotton. I absentmindedly stroked the scar on Jacob's inner wrist. Jake only had one scar. Nobody was even sure he could scar, what with his super healing abilities; I think Jake was probably the most surprised of all that the disfigurement remained. Thanks to my photographic memory, I could remember every second of the incident when Jake gained his scar. He'd been watching my dreams one night as I slept; I've told him off about that before, but he said I had been moving about a lot in my sleep and was worried that I was having a nightmare. Turns out I was dreaming about hunting. It was a very vivid dream, including a rather appetising smelling bear. As I was about to bite the beast in my dream, I stretched out and re-created the action physically in bed. Jake's screaming woke me up, and I realised that there was something solid and tissue-like between my teeth. I released my jaw immediately, horrified as Jake clutched his wrist and rolled out of the bed in agony. One minute Jake was yelling in pain on the floor, the next, there was a giant wolf in his place, howling in my bedroom. I launched myself at him, trying to reason with him enough so that he would quiet down. His yelps turned to whimpers and, eventually, he turned into a man again. The wound had stopped bleeding, but it still looked pretty messy. The bed sheets were almost completely soaked in blood, and my nightdress hadn't escaped clean either. Jacob said that he could feel that I had done some serious damage, and he was still in a lot of pain, so I had to call Carlisle to get him to come over and examine Jake - It turned out that I had ripped one of Jake's ligaments, and he had to wear a brace for the rest of that night. Carlisle was very mature about the whole thing, as he always was, but my dignity wasn't completely unwounded. Thanks to Jake's spontaneous shape-shifting, the majority of his pack knew about the whole thing. Not that Jake didn't deserve whatever he got for spying on my dreams, but I was still hugely embarrassed that I had almost ripped his wrist in two. Emmett did his best to taunt me as well, making multiple jokes about female aggression, but following some heavy mental abuse from me, he soon let up. So apart from the strange looks we get from our neighbours (who we managed to convince that our TV was broken and the volume was prone to self-fluctuate), some light teasing from Jake's brothers and the permanent indentation of my teeth in Jacob's arm, I could almost avoid remembering the whole fiasco completely.

Carlisle buzzed us in to the apartment and then welcomed us in the hall, glad to see that Jacob was back unharmed. Mom gave him a huge hug, and then voiced her disapprovals about him leaving, which Dad clearly shared with her, but refrained from commenting on. Alice and Jasper were in the lounge, watching the news. I noticed that everyone's hair was a bit dishevelled; Jacob was right, we should have waited until the morning to break the news, it was rude to have disturbed them in the middle of the night. They had to know about Toby though…

"What about Toby?" Dad. It was extremely difficult to make coherent thoughts with him jumping ahead every second. Everyone turned to look at Dad, and then follow his gaze to me.

"Mom, would you mind? I can't think with him in my head." I could almost feel Mom's invisible shield wrap itself around me, making my father just as incompetent in the telepathy department as the rest of the room. "Thanks."

"No problem" She smiled at me, and then grinned cheekily at Dad. He looked back, clearly vexed by her gift.

"Does this have something to do with Jacob's news?" Carlisle asked me.

"Yes. Jake?" I projected to him, asking whether he wanted to tell the story, or have me do it. He sighed at me, and then looked to everyone else.

"Okay," He began, "the last few days, I've been at the Reservation, at La Push." Mom gasped, clearly jumping to the same conclusions I had. Dad tightened his grip on her. "It's okay, no one is hurt, everyone is perfectly healthy." Mom's fear turned to confusion, to match the expressions on the rest of the room. "Sam's son, Toby, has turned into a shape shifter. He's a wolf now too."

"What?" Dad questioned. "When?" It was clear to see the exasperation on Jake's face as he repeated the story he told me to the rest of the family. They all had the same questions I did, the same worries. It was a few moments before anyone could talk, mostly frozen with shock. Carlisle spoke first.

"It may be exactly what we originally thought. The ability is genetic - passed through the generations - nothing to do with vampires." He argued.

"Surely it would have skipped Toby then, and affected his son, like it did with our fathers?" Jake disputed. Dad remained deep in thought, not even he could reason why another wolf would appear in Forks.

"You're sure there were no trails?" Was the only thing he said, which Jake answered with a simple 'Yes' and let him go back to his internal debating.

"There must be some reason for it, we can't just assume it's genetic, it could be dangerous for the pack." Mom complained. Everyone reverted back to being silent for a while, thinking about the best way to react.

"We'll have to investigate." Jasper stated.

"As in, go back to Forks?" I asked.

"I think that would probably be the best plan." Carlisle agreed with Jasper. "That way we can monitor if there is any activity in the area, and if any one else makes the change, we'll hear sooner."

"What happens if we get recognised?" Mom said.

"We would have to stay out of town. If we need anything, Nessie could go in." Mom didn't look happy with Jasper's assessment, but it made sense to me. No one knew me in Forks except Charlie and the Quileutes. It would be safe for me to be there.

"Recognition isn't the only reason to avoid Forks. They just said on the news that it's experiencing one of it's hottest summers on record. The rain has almost completely dissipated, and they're getting about two hours of sunshine a day. I can see that it will be more than this when we get there." Alice pitched in. "It's completely defying all the weather reports." Alice looked puzzled about Forks' unconventional summer, the same look she had when she wasn't sure about something, when decisions that were subject to change clouded her vision.

"What's wrong Alice?" Carlisle had obviously been considering Alice's expression the same way I had been.

"I don't know. It's just strange, that's all. It's not easy to see the weather there, not as easy as it should be." Honestly, I wasn't much bothered about the weather in Forks, irregular or not. The prospect of getting to visit Forks had me excited enough for both myself and Alice.

"Is going back to Forks really the answer? Do we need to be that rash as to pack up and move?" Dad interjected.

"It is the holidays. Term doesn't start again until August, and it will be nice to go back to Forks." Mom smiled at Dad. Despite her fears of recognition, she was clearly pleased with the idea of getting to spend some time back at home. Esme looked pleased with the idea as well.

"It will be good to be back at the house. We could call Rosalie and Emmett and get them to meet us there. They're due back from Denali in a week anyway, it will be quicker for them to travel to Forks." I had guessed that Esme was eager to get back to one of her larger homes. She had always preferred living in smaller towns, and I could tell that she was itching to escape the confines of the penthouse; despite it being one of the largest apartments in the city, it was a mere matchbox compared to, what we all considered, the family home.

"So it's a plan. We'll go tomorrow?" I asked. The decision to leave had been made so quickly, I was still unsure that it had been made, uncertain that it wasn't just some hastily made assumption I had come too.

"In the evening. If we drive, we should get there by the next morning. We would completely avoid seeing either one of the sun or people in Forks." Carlisle concluded.

"We'd better get packing then." I turned to Jake. He looked at me, tired, eager to get back to bed and sleep until we absolutely had to wake up.

"Let's get going then." We began to make our way out of the apartment. Alice didn't look as pleased as the others about going back to Forks. I couldn't imagine it would be anything to do with the town itself, it must have just been the weather concerning her, not that I understood why.

I was still considering what would have Alice so put out as we headed down the street away from the house, when Jake intruded into my thoughts.

"I'll need to tell Leah and Sam about us coming to Forks, give them a heads up. Do you mind if we go through the forest on the way back?"

"Oh, no, of course not." I was mildly pleased that we would be taking the more discreet root home. It would give me a chance to balance some of my excitement over the prospect of going home by using up some energy. "I'll race you back if you like?" I challenged Jake.

"Or I could run with you. I've missed you so much while I've been away, I don't think I want to leave you behind me again." He smiled tauntingly at me.

"Oh, it's on!" And I took off into a sprint. I could hear Jake's shirt ripping behind me as I dived into the woods, followed by heavy panting and the padding of large paws on the forest floor. I glanced behind me to meet Jacob's eyes, almost 3ft higher than mine. I considered quickly that it was extremely strange for me to still find Jacob attractive in his wolf form, and whether this signalled that I should have some sort of psychoanalysis conducted on me. But these thoughts were quickly erased as I measured that I was already aware that psychoanalysis would not be beneficial to me in any way (focusing mainly, as it does, on human nature) and that not many things in my life ever did make sense. I guess being in love with a wolf was just the price I paid for being up to my ears in the supernatural; I wasn't bothered in the slightest.


	4. Travel Plans

------------------------------------------------------------ Travel Plans ----------------------------------------------------------

It was late afternoon when I woke up the next day from one of the best night's sleep I'd had in at least four days. Jacob lay snoring loudly beside me, taking up the majority of the bed. It always amazed me that I could sleep through Jacob's snoring; awake it sounded as though I would still be able to hear him if he slept on the other side of a 5ft concrete wall, even without my paranormal hearing abilities. I got out of bed, barely jostling the mattress, and headed to the bathroom. My face shone at me in the mirror, looking radiant with anticipation. This time tomorrow I would be standing in a completely different house; a house more familiar to me than my own face. The white house. I didn't realise until now just how much I had missed home. The pale rooms, the glass walls, the open space, the view of the river and forest as twilight settled in. And then a completely new thought erupted inside me; I would get to see the cottage. The magical home of my youth. A warmth spread through me that took me a little by surprise. I was suddenly very eager to get showered and packed and start the journey home.

It took less than an hour to pack. I only packed the bare essentials and my very favourite clothes. No doubt Alice would cease the opportunity to buy me a whole new wardrobe - maybe that's why she had been so distressed last night, she only had one day to shop - considering all the good weather we would apparently be experiencing in Washington. The thought of Washington sent another tingle through my veins and I almost reached the speed of light heading towards the bedroom to spur Jake on. He complained, naturally. Jake was good at complaining, it's what he did best.

"Calm down, Ness. If you would care to notice, I'm not going that slowly."

"Well, I want to get back to the penthouse soon, to make sure everything is ready. Do you think they got in contact with Rose and Em?" Another reason to be excited. I hadn't seen Rose and Emmett in almost 2 months. "It will be great to see them again."

"Sure sure." Was all the reply I got from Jake. Although Jake got on fantastically with my uncle, Emmett, his relationship with Rosalie wasn't particularly great. It was nowhere near as bad as it had been, but their stubbornness made it hard for me to believe that they could even be friends. I knew Jake was looking forward to getting back though. Leah had been pleased to find out that he was headed home. Everyone would feel a bit more at ease if the whole pack was together, ready to tackle any problems that may face them. I felt more at ease too; having Jake with the pack made him feel better, which in turn made me happy. I knew that Jake felt as though he was failing the others as an alpha when he was away. I had told him once that he should stay at the Reservation and study at the college in Seattle, but he rebuked me in an instant, arguing that he couldn't leave me for that long. I knew exactly what he meant. If he had chosen to study in Washington, no matter where I was, if I wasn't with Jake, there wasn't much point. But I didn't want to stand in the way of his duties, so I made the necessary sacrifices, not that it mattered in the end anyway. This arrangement worked well though - both of us in Forks, where he belonged, where I belonged.

Jake and I left the flat just after 4 pm and headed for something to eat before meeting the others.

"Are you looking forward to going back then?" Jake asked me between mouthfuls of rib eye steak and potatoes.

"Yeah. A lot. I can't wait to have everyone back home again, all together. And I hope we get to see Charlie, even just once." I could barely eat, I was already full of butterflies. Not literally, of course, I can't imagine butterflies would taste too appetising, or that they would fill me up. "We'll go to the Res as well, yeah? I haven't seen Claire in ages. She'll be almost 18 right?"

"Yeah, close. We might even make her birthday, depending on how long we stay. It'll be good to see the guys too." I often felt bad for Jake. Sure, he had friends here in Kalispell, but no one he was close too, not like Quil and Embry. Luckily for Jake, Quil hadn't started ageing yet, waiting for Claire, and Embry hadn't imprinted at all yet, so he was still exactly the same age as when we left. But it did concern me, the thought of what would happen when they did eventually age. Jared was now, physically at least, about 29 years old and Sam and Paul were both in their mid 30's, catching up with their partners, Kim, Emily and Rachael. Jake would never age. He would stay the same, like me, forever. However, unlike me, Jake would have to watch his friends age, and eventually die, while he remained frozen as a 20 something year old. All the people I loved would remain physically the same indefinitely, Charlie the one exception. It wasn't as if my family wasn't Jakes family, and vice versa, but he needed his friends, someone more human that he could relate to. "You gonna eat that?" Jake sat with an empty plate in front of him, eyeing my barely nibbled Hamburger.

"No, go ahead." Jake devoured my burger in 3 not-so-graceful bites. Honestly, I still hadn't really developed any deep appreciation for human food; good red meat and the occasional confection was about as much as I actually liked, the rest I ate with laboured tolerance. Being half human, I got a lot more hungry than my whole vampire family, and it became inconvenient to hunt so often so I substituted with human food. The hunting round here was poor anyway, no big beasts or exciting carnivores, just your run off the mill deer and similar leaf eaters. The waiter came over with our check, half-complimenting, half-insulting Jake's amazing appetite. His eyes lingered on me for half a second more than they should have and Jake's expression turned to a violent possessiveness. It was silly of Jake to get worked up about other people finding me attractive - I was half-vampire, it would be difficult _not_ to draw attention - I know, I've tried. I knew how he felt though; girls continuously checked Jake out, day after day, but I didn't express my dissatisfaction as clearly as he did, there was no reason to doubt that Jake loved me as much as I loved him, so I didn't. I touched his arm lightly to tell him this.

"I know, but still, it's rude to appraise someone else's girlfriend."

"Hypocrite." I teased him lightly.

"What?"

"Don't you recall a time when you appraised someone else's girlfriend? As far as I understand, you even kissed her. Are you saying that isn't rude?"

"Oh." Jake stuttered for a second. "That was different though, that was love. Okay so it was poorly directed, but still." Jake felt highly uncomfortable talking about this, the time before me, when he loved my mom. I found it a little weird too, but more funny than anything, and also a little romantic, in a twisted sense, that Jacob loved me, even before I existed.

"It's always me that starts the trouble, isn't it!" I laughed, and he laughed with me, leaving the restaurant.

"The root of all evil." He said, as he wrapped one arm around me, dragging the luggage with his other as we walked to the penthouse.

The Jaguar was parked outside the apartment, alongside Carlisle's signature black Mercedes. Dad was just putting one of the suitcases in the trunk when we arrived.

"Hey, your early."

"We just came straight after eating. Why wait?" Jake asked rhetorically, as he lifted our suitcase into the trunk beside Dad's. "Bella upstairs yeah?"

"Yes. She's on the phone to Charlie. Did you tell Leah we were visiting? I think she may have passed the message on." Dad led us into the lobby and towards the lift up to the house.

"Yeah, and Sam. Best to let them know, so know one over reacts. Is Charlie okay with it?"

"As far as I could hear, he's thrilled. He can't wait to see Bella and Nessie again."

"Will we get to se very much of him?" I asked hopefully.

"As much as you like." Dad hugged me with one arm. The lift doors opened and we all stepped into the apartment. Carlisle and Jasper were leaning over the table on the right hand side of the room, examining some maps, discussing the best route to take I assumed. Mom was on the phone at the window and I could hear Esme and Alice talking through in one of the bedrooms. I went and settled in on the sofa, Jake following me. The news was on television, but it wasn't anything I hadn't heard before. I sat absentmindedly looking out of the window, trying to calm myself. I had a full six weeks before school started and, with any luck, we'd be spending the majority of that time in Washington.

"Okay Dad. Love you." Mom hung up the phone and came over to sit beside Jake and I. "Where are your bags?"

"Jake put them in the car already."

"I hope you packed light. Alice has basically substituted everyone's entire wardrobe. She's been shopping all day." Mom laughed.

"Well you didn't leave me very much time." Alice had come through into the lounge to defend herself. "I would have been a lot quicker if I hadn't had to pace myself with the humans. Anyway, it doesn't matter now. Everyone is all sorted, even Rose and Em." She smiled in appreciation of herself, clearly proud of her success. I had to admit, even I was impressed; Alice always shopped beyond my expectations.

"Did you eat already?" Mom addressed Jake. She knew him about as well as I did.

"Yeah, before we came."

"And a lot too, well, in Jake's case anyway." Mom and I both laughed. "Have you?"

"No, we'll wait till we're back in Forks. I think Esme packed some food for you guys, for the journey."

"It won't take that long, will it? I shouldn't imagine we'll get hungry." Not me anyway, I could last a good 2 to 3 days without eating.

"A couple of hours, I guess. Depends what route we take, and how busy."

"Yeah. So who's travelling with who?"

"Carlisle and Esme will be taking the Mercedes, and I think Jasper and Alice will take the Jag. Who would you rather ride with?"

"We should probably go with Carlisle and Esme. It'll be easier on Alice if we're not in the car." When Alice was driving she liked to use her gift to drive even faster than a generic vampire, but if Jake or I were involved, we would block everything, and I couldn't imagine she'd be happy without her sight.

"Don't worry about me, Ness. Jasper will be driving anyway, and it's honestly not as bad as you think. I got used to working around you a long time ago. It's hardly a problem anymore." Alice tried to reason with me, but I still felt guilty.

"It's okay, Alice. You can take the night off."

"Hardly, Ness. I'll always be looking out for you." She smiled at me and then came and sat in front of me, resting her back on my legs, and focusing on the TV. I was cocooned, protected with love from every side.


	5. Home

---------------------------------------------------------------- Home ---------------------------------------------------------------

We arrived in Forks in the early hours of the morning, no later than 5 am. It only took Carlisle about 8 hours to travel the distance. The others arrived before us, naturally, what with Jasper (and I suspected partially Alice) driving, and they had the house dusted and ready to live in by the time we got there. It was almost exactly as I remembered; the same white walls, the same open spaces, the same homely feel. It smelled different, a result of the long term inhabitancy, but that would fade away in a couple of days. The lawn was a little overgrown, a few new saplings and some impromptu shrubs, but nothing a little vigorous gardening wouldn't fix - I'm sure Emmett would have it sorted in less than 10 minutes, and probably even before he set one foot in the house. All that was left to do was unpack. Jake and I were staying in one of the spare bedrooms; Dad had offered us his room, as he and Mom would be staying in the cottage, but the glass wall let too much light in in the mornings, so we opted for one of the rooms on the other side of the house, with curtained windows and a private dressing room to store all our new clothes. It seemed that in this house there was always somewhere new to be discovered. Esme really had done a fantastic job designing it, ensuring that all the requirements for everyone had been met, and then adding a few half dozen more unnecessary rooms to that, which worked out well for us. Unpacking my suitcase of unfamiliar clothes, I noticed that Alice had taken full liberty to dress me in the most expensive and impractical clothes she could get her hands on. My wardrobe for this summer consisted mainly of organza and chiffon summer dresses and linen tailoring. Sometimes, living with my family became a little too sophisticated; I sometimes wondered what it would feel like to wear sweats. But I did love all the clothes, and Alice had managed to buy things that, despite being a little too romantic, still had a sense of my own style in them. I changed into a pale grey baby doll dress once I was finished, and headed downstairs to join my family.

Coming down the staircase, it was as if we had never left this place. Esme was sitting in one of the chairs, sketching on a small paper pad, and Mom was sat on the sofa, reading. Alice and Jasper were making their way towards the back door, presumably headed towards the garage and I could hear Carlisle and Dad upstairs in Carlisle's office, talking about Toby. Everyone was completely settled in, even Jake, who was sitting next to my Mom, laughing at something on the television.

"Does anybody have the time?" I asked.

"It's just after 7 am." Esme replied, a warm smile on her face.

"Thanks." I didn't know what I wanted to do. I felt I should do something to celebrate being back in Forks. I thought about maybe hunting, but I wasn't really very thirsty. It was too early to visit La Push, and Charlie would probably be visiting us here at the house later on today, so there was no one I could go and see. I went over and sat at Jake's feet, leaning against the sofa.

"What's up?" He asked. He could read me like and open book.

"Nothing. I don't know what to do."

"You're bored?"

"No. More… restless. I've got the energy to do something, but I don't know what."

" We could go for a run if you like?" I just answered him with an unsatisfied face. "Visit the cottage?" That sounded like a better plan, but still, it didn't feel satisfying. And then I realised exactly what I wanted to do, exactly the thing that would feel like really being home.

"Come with me." I pulled Jake up off the sofa and started heading for the front door.

"Ness, whoa, slow down! Where are we going?" I was already 50 yards from the house, Jake running behind me, human and confused. But he was going to have to wait, because this wasn't a place I wanted to tell Jake about, I wanted to _show_ it to him; the place where it all began. "Seriously, Ness, what are you doing?"

"We're almost there, just follow me."

"As if I'd run anywhere else," he scoffed, catching me up and taking hold of my hand. I beamed at him, and he beamed straight back. In the excitement, I accidentally let slip images of the place we were headed through my hand and into Jake's head. Mostly just blurry visions of light and trees and grass, but more of a clue than I wanted to give him. "Whoa, what was that?"

"That, was this," and I slowed to a pace, leading him under an arched tree, into the most beautiful place I could ever imagine, for always.

"What is this place?"

"The Meadow."


	6. The Meadow

------------------------------------------------------------ The Meadow ---------------------------------------------------------

"It's beautiful," Jake seemed as won over by the Meadow's magnificence as I was. We both lay intertwined in the grass, gazing at the surrounding nature. "What is it?"

I laughed, Jake still didn't have a clue why this place was important. To him, it was just a nice green plane.

"This is where it all happened." Still bemused. "This is where my Mom saw my Dad, really saw him, for the first time."

"You mean…"

"Sparkling, yeah." We both laughed. "It's also where she agreed to marry him. I mean, actually marry him, not just accepted the proposal."

"Wait… what?" Boys.

"Well, Mom had already said yes to Dad, but this is where she made her mind up. She told me that being back in this place, with Dad, just made her realise it was what she wanted." I could still remember the first time I came to the Meadow. Mom and Dad told me they wanted me to see something very special, and this is where they took me. Mom told me all about it's history, and I knew instantly it was special - the place my parents were born.

"You never told me about this place." Jake looked intrigued. There wasn't very much at all that I didn't tell Jacob about, so it would seem strange that I wouldn't tell him about such a significant part of me.

"Well it always seemed like a thing that was special to my parents, special to their story, and mine, so I never told you. But now, I want you to know about it. It means something to me, and I want to share it with you." It was difficult to describe what Jake's being involved with this meant, so I showed him instead. _You are what matters most, and there isn't a thing I don't want you to know. This place is… magic. It's the most exceptional place in the world, where a vampire and a human, and a werewolf and a mutant, can be in love._

"You're not a mutant," He kissed me lightly on the forehead, "and you're right, this place is magic. I can feel it." He squeezed me closer to him and whispered in my ear. "And I do love you - more than everything, anything. Enough love to fill a dozen hearts and still have enough love to fill one hundred more."

"I love you too." And I did, more than any body loved anyone ever before. "It's deeper than hearts, Jacob. It's to do with our souls." And we lay together in the grass, silent and elated.

"You've been here before, you know?" My voice was very quite, only slightly interrupting the perfect silence of the Meadow.

"Oh really?" Jake didn't recall.

"As a wolf." I remembered Mom telling me about her seeing Jake here as well, though she couldn't remember the specifics, just that she didn't know it was him. "Mom saw you here, but she didn't know it was you." Jake looked deep in thought, and then realisation lit across his face.

"Oh, yeah, I remember that. Not so much this place, but that day. It was the first time I fought a vampire." He smiled to himself. My breathing stopped.

"You…what?"

Jake looked down at me, worry and confusion over my expression filling his eyes. "The pack, we caught our first vampire here. He was after Bella." I couldn't speak. "Ness, are you alright?"

"You. Fought. A. _Vampire_?"

"Of course, what else was I supposed to do?" Jake half smiled. I was aghast. I didn't even want to think of Jacob being anywhere near an aggressive vampire. It brought back memories of my childhood. A group of shrouded figures, both hostile and horrified at the sight of the wolves, ready to fight every member of my family - because of me. I tried to shake the memory out of my head. Jake noticed. "Are you okay? Did I upset you?"

"No, it's just… I hate it. I don't ever want to think of you putting yourself in danger."

"Renesmee," He scoffed, "I was hardly in any danger, it was five against one, barely even fun."

"Stop that. It's not funny. Honestly, you're just as bad as Emmett sometimes." He kissed my forehead, I just scowled into the distance.

"Hey, I survived, didn't I? Besides, there is no reason for you to worry about me fighting vampires. I'm not going to see any unfriendly ones anytime soon." He seemed to rethink that statement, "Well, apart from Rosalie, but I promise, I won't fight her." I could here a smile in his voice. The thought of Rosalie quickly had me thawed out, and eager to get back. We'd been at the meadow for a few hours now, and Rose and Em were bound to be home by now. I got up, pulling Jake with me. "Do I get to know where we're going this time?" Jake asked me.

"Home." I smiled at him and then leaped round him, onto his back. He laughed once and then phased into his wolf form, with me still clutching him. As he ran me back to the house, I considered Jake's amazing self control; that he could phase with me so close was puzzling to almost everyone. Whether it was the result of his unwillingness to hurt me, or my indestructibility that kept me from being hurt during his transformation was beyond reasoning, so we mostly just took it for granted, but it was still an interesting compatibility. And then I realised that Jake had shredded his trousers. Again.


	7. Time

----------------------------------------------------------------- Time ----------------------------------------------------------------

When we arrived back at the White House, it was obvious that Emmett and Rosalie had arrived home. Not because I could hear them inside, or smell Rose's sweet scent, but because I had been right; Emmett had sorted out the garden. A small pile of young saplings sat on the edge of the drive, and the front green looked as perfect as it did in my memories. Jake let me off his back, and then la down on the grass. "I'll just get you some clothes. Wait here." I told him. He looked at me, apologies in his eyes. I laughed at his expression and then made my way inside. As I reached the front door, Rosalie pulled it open.

"Renesmee!" She sang at me, before pulling me in for a tight embrace. I hugged her back just as strongly. I really had missed Rose. It seemed like I hadn't seen her in years, rather than months. "Oh, I've missed you so much." She said into my ear.

"I missed you too Rose." I told her, pulling away from her shoulder to look her in the face. "I'm glad we're all home."

"It's perfect." She said, a breathtaking smile spreading across her face. She sighed, and then let go of me. "Well, almost," she laughed, "you smell awful. Where's Jake?"

"Oh," I smiled self-consciously, "em, he's outside. I need to get him some trousers." I smiled at her. Emmett laughed from the sofa; the sound sent a ripple of warmth through me, and my smile widened.

"More temper tantrums?" Mom laughed as she made her way through from the kitchen. "You'd better get Jake presentable quickly, Charlie will be here soon."

"Really?" I beamed, "How soon?"

"About 15 minutes. Sue is coming too, and maybe Seth and Leah."

"Oh, okay." My happiness was only slightly dampened. Sue wasn't our biggest fan and it was sometimes hard to have her around, a little like Leah, but her and Charlie were a package deal, so I shouldn't have been surprised that she would come to visit with him. I moved quickly up the staircase and into Jake and I's bedroom, grabbing a pair of shorts for Jake, and headed back downstairs. I caught Alice halfway along the corridor. She was staring out the long window wistfully, her face tormented in a very slight way. I hugged her side softly. "You okay, Alice?"

She sighed. "Yes. Well, I don't know. I'm getting headaches." She turned to look at me, sadness in her eyes. "Everything seems a little.. Fuzzy. Difficult." She sighed again.

"huh…" I couldn't think of anything to say. I was more confused than anything. "Any idea what's causing it?"

"No. Maybe I'm just looking to hard for something that isn't there. The reason behind Toby's change. Not that I can." She looked frustrated now. "You'd better get those to Jake. Charlie is here." I hugged her a little more tightly and then ran down the to the living room, not pausing before I ran straight out the front door. Jake got up as I approached him and took the shorts between his teeth. He nudged me lightly with his head and then disappeared into the forest. I listened carefully for Charlie's car on the drive, and could hear his engine getting closer. Jake was back in seconds, taking my hand and leading me back towards the house. Mom and Dad had made their way onto the stairs at the front door, to greet Charlie when he arrived. We stood beside them and as I listened to the approaching tyres, I felt the light fluttering of butterflies in my stomach. I was truly looking forward to seeing Charlie again, but I couldn't escape the slight fear that the meeting caused within me. The last time I saw Charlie was just over a year ago and I couldn't help but wonder whether, this time, he expected to see a change in me; some sing of ageing - a few inches taller, skin a little more worn. Of course he wouldn't ever see me change now, I was full grown and frozen physically. Yet we all had to suffer watching him grow old and, eventually, die. It made me nervous; I was expecting to see in him the same things he was possibly hoping to see in me. A little more grey in his hair, a little slower in his movements. Even then, although it hurt me a great deal to see this, I couldn't even begin to image the pain it caused Mom. You could see, very slightly, in her eyes the hurt she felt over Charlie's aging, though she kept it well hidden. The car pulled up in front of the house, and I sighed very slightly, before a grin broke across my face.

Charlie got out of the car and smiled widely at the four of us, hastily making his way toward Mom and pulling her in for a hug; you could see him squeeze her with all his might, and in turn see her use very little effort to hug him with exactly the same force. The embrace made his humanity even more potent to me. I noticed Sue and Seth climb out of the car's passenger doors, Seth's expression warm and happy, Sue's pleasant, but guarded. Despite knowing that Charlie was perfectly safe here, probably more safe than anywhere else, Sue would never be able to push from her mind the obvious facts - her family was surrounded by vampires. True, her and Charlie did send a slight burn through my stomach, but nothing uncontrollable; I imagined it would be much harder on my parents' throats, but if they could handle it, so could I. Seth came straight over to Jake and I, hugging Jake with the same enthusiasm as always, and then I received the same welcome.

"Oh man, it's good to have you back Jake. And you too Nessie. What's it been, like, a year since you were at La Push? You guys need to visit more often." Seth smiled, and then headed into the house behind Dad. Charlie came over to me then.

"Oh Nessie," he sighed as he hugged me closely, "still as beautiful as always. You haven't changed a bit. Well, unless you got even taller!" Charlie laughed. I always let my height slip my mind. I wasn't very tall, no taller than Rosalie, and nowhere near as tall as Zafrina (my Amazonian friend) but Charlie always seemed to let it vex him. It made sense to me though. A girl would have to be tall if she was made to be with Jake. He was near on 7ft.

"Maybe," I lied, "I've missed you heaps Grandpa. It's so good to see you again." And it was. My anxiety had been washed away with Charlie's embrace. He hadn't hardly changed. Perhaps his laughter lines had grown a little more pronounced, and his curls a little more thin, but nothing dramatic. He looked as healthy and happy as always.


	8. Hunt

----------------------------------------------------------------- Hunt -----------------------------------------------------------------

"These cookies are really good Esme," Charlie mouthed around another mouthful of Esme's lemon cookies. He must have eaten at least 7 over the course of the day. Sue nudged Charlie very lightly on the arm, an understated hint to try and be more polite I assumed. "Well," Charlie coughed, "I think we'd better get going. We're having dinner with Mark and his wife tonight. We said we'd meet them at 5." Oh. Not a reminder to be polite, a goading to leave. Everyone stood up to say their goodbyes and Esme fluttered into the kitchen. I could hear her moving very quickly through the cabinets and the light rustling of a paper bag. She met Sue and Charlie at the door.

"Please," she said, while handing the bag of cookies to Sue, "take these back with you. They'll just go to waste here." She smiled. Charlie seemed pleased and Sue smiled back very slightly, understanding better than my Grandpa the truth behind Esme's words. I heard Jacob grunt very quietly. He clearly didn't agree with Esme.

"We'll probably visit some time next week, yeah?" Mom said to Dad as the group made their way to their car.

"Of course," Charlie agreed, "Come round anytime you like."

"I'll see you guys tomorrow, " Seth waved at Jake and I, and then turned to wave goodbye to the rest of the party. Charlie turned his car in the drive and then waved out of the window as the car continued away from the house. It was just beginning to get dark outside.

"Hungry?" Dad smiled down at my Mom.

"Starving," she replied. In an instant we were joined by Jasper and Alice. Rosalie and Emmet had eaten this morning, and Carlisle and Esme were going to go out later on this evening. I looked round to Jake._ You coming?_ I asked through my palms. He shook his head slowly.

"I'm gonna run some lines with Leah. See if we can find anything interesting." Jake's subtle reminder of the reason that brought us to Forks took me slightly by surprise. I had almost completely forgotten that there were some untraceable vampires somewhere near Forks that needed to be found. I nodded stiffly, anxiety filling my eyes. Jake cupped my chin and pulled my face upwards to look me in the eyes. "Don't worry," he smiled at me, "I'm sure there is no danger." He kissed me lightly on the lips. I only felt slightly appeased. Then he sighed and moved into the trees to go and meet Leah. I turned to join the hunting party. Mom put her arm around me when I was close enough, seeing the worry in my features.

"Where to then Alice?" Dad asked. Alice's features strained into a look of concentration.

"South." She stated. Jasper smiled down at her and then a look flashed in his eyes. He moved very quickly, trying to tap Alice on the shoulder, but she was too fast and he missed her by the tinniest fraction.

"Damn," he muttered under his breath and she grinned widely at him.

"Tig," she smiled as she punched him lightly on the arm and then sprinted into the forest. Mom, Dad and I took of almost instantaneously, moving rapidly away from Jasper. He sighed heavily and then I could hear the wind brush past him as he began running after us. Game on. As soon as we were into deep enough woodland, Mom took to the trees. She was an uncommonly good climber, her reactions were faster than a fired bullet. Dad shot off into the distance; I could only tell he was ahead of me because of the sound his body made as it brushed against leaves. He was ahead of Alice in under half a minute. I pushed myself harder off the ground, using all my energy. I could hear Jasper gaining and I certainly didn't want to be caught - I had a very small chance of catching any member of this group. I managed to catch up with Alice, running about the same pace behind her. Alice was beautiful to watch, every movement utterly graceful. Occasionally she would push herself off the ground, like an arrow, through a gap in the trees and flip through the air before landing straight back into running. I could hear Mom laugh up above us, and I looked up to see her push of one branch and onto another, running just like myself, but on tree limbs rather than earth. I smiled, letting Mom's exhilaration affect me. Just then I heard Jasper, very close behind me, push his feet strongly against what sounded like a boulder and fly through the air. I jumped up to grab a low bough and swung myself lithely round the tree's trunk, changing my original direction and moving out of Jaspers path. I landed on the sod and turned in enough time to glance Jasper land exactly where I would have been before turning and then jump immediately off the ground and toward Alice. I climbed the tree to see if he caught her. Watching from the branch I could see Jasper pounce straight onto Alice's back. They tumbled onto the forest floor, tangled into one being. I could hear Alice cuss and Jasper laughing. Once they stopped rolling he kissed her on the neck.

"Tig," he laughed. Alice's perfect face glared at him. Dad appeared at their sides laughing, and Mom dropped from a tree straight down beside Dad, a large smile on her face. I swung off of a branch down to join them. Alice lifted herself off the ground in one brisk move, Jasper following suit. "Okay, enough games. Food."

Everyone instantly focused, listening for their prey. Mom turned her head sharply towards Dad with a smile, and then darted off into the trees. He followed her quickly. I tried to hear what they were chasing. It sounded big. I could hear the padding of large paws; a large cat. They must be having a competition. That was silly, Dad would win hands down, he was much faster. Alice and Jasper moved east from our position, towards a herd of elk in a clearing near by. I didn't fancy any leaf eaters, so I was left alone. In all honesty, I wasn't that hungry. Now that I had stopped running, worry for Jacob instantly overwhelmed me. What if he stumbled across a trail while out with Leah. Would he come to find us first, or would he just automatically chase it. Would he call the rest of the pack, would anyone else get hurt? I took a deep breath. Of course Jake would call the pack, and call us as well. He wouldn't endanger Leah by just following the trail with her, and he would know I wanted him to tell me first, so he would do that. Of course he would. I smiled, and I missed Jacob. I would hunt very fast and get home quickly, to make sure he was safe. I closed my eyes to let my other senses find my quarry. I caught a scent of something from the north. It smelled like a carnivore. I followed the sound of the animal breaking the bracken under its feet. As I neared I could hear more clearly it's paws thudding against the earth. In no more than 2 minutes I was following the bobcat under the trees. It moved slowly along the ground and it was easy to take down. One pounce and the fight was over. It didn't get the opportunity to struggle. The acid burn in my stomach was cooled by the animals metallic blood as it washed through me. My appetite was certainly satisfied once the cat ran empty. I brushed myself off when I was finished. It was quite dark under the canopy of leaves now, it must have been past nightfall. I ran back in the direction I had come in, listening out for any of the others. I couldn't hear anyone once I got back to the small clearing we had separated in. I ran for a short while in the direction Mom and Dad had gone in to look for them, but I was quickly sidetracked by a familiar scent. I started to sprint, following the trail left by the beautiful smelling animal. Soon I was chasing behind Jake, as he loped slightly ahead of Leah. He stopped and turned, just in time to catch me leaping onto his back. He barked a welcoming laugh and I hugged him tightly. I looked across to Leah and waved at her. Her wolf face twisted into what I recognised as a smile, and then we were moving again. Jake began running in his original direction as I held myself close to his body. Leah ran parallel to us and in very little time we were at the river behind the Cullen home. I jumped off of Jake's back as he continued through the river. I made a simple jump across the stream, avoiding the splashes that Leah and Jake made as they broke through the water and slowed to a walk once I was on the lawn. Jake and Leah moved into the trees and came back in their human forms. As they moved towards me, I felt the approach of another party behind us. Up until that moment, I had completely forgotten about the others. I could hear Alice's laughter as she appeared on the other side of the river, ahead of Jasper and the others. They broke through the forest soon after her. Jake came and held my hand.

"Hey Leah," I smiled.

"Hey Nessie. How's things?"

"Not bad. And you?"

"Okay actually, apart from this mess. It's interrupted my schedule a bit, I've been running a lot recently." She rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Leah, I told you," Jake scolded, "there are other people who can run. You don't need to tire yourself out." Jake could have been talking to a brick wall for all the effect his words seemed to have on Leah.

"So did you find anything?" I asked the pair. The hunting group joined us then, eager to hear Jake and Leah's report.

"No, nothing." Jake sighed. "No trails at all." He paused momentarily, "Well, we thought we found something at one point, but then it turned out to be Ness." He looked down at me, "Are you wearing perfume today?" What a strange question. I never wore perfume, Jake knew that.

"No?" I managed to make my response sound like a question with the confusion in my voice.

"Huh. It's just your trail smelled.. A little different, that's all. It was maybe just your new dress." He smelled the sleeve of my outfit, made a face and then pulled away again. "But no, nothing out of the ordinary."

"It's really frustrating actually. At least if there was something out there we would know what cause Toby's transformation." Leah grimaced. "I'd better get back home. The others will want to hear the news." She smiled at me and then left, heading back into the woods. I returned the smile a little too late, still bothered by Jake's assessment of the way I smelled. I wouldn't wear this dress again. I looked down at myself, to remind myself of what I was wearing. Huh. Well, I guess I couldn't wear this dress again; there were various grass and mud stains grained into the thin organza, the result of my prolific day in the forest. I was momentarily contrite about my appearance for Charlie and Sue this afternoon. I hoped that the stains had only been picked up in the later half of the day. I walked back towards the house, following Alice and Mom, while Jasper and Dad headed towards the garage. Esme caught Jake and I on our way upstairs.

"Nessie, I'm sorry but I can't go into Forks to get any food shopping done for you and Jake. Will you be alright to get stuff in?" Esme's eyes were filled with remorse.

"Oh, don't worry about it Esme. It's fine. Jake and I are the eaters here, we should be responsible for food not you." I smiled at her, which she returned, but the guilt was still in her eyes. "Honestly, don't worry." I appeased her, "We'll get some shopping done tomorrow morning." In fairness, the easy hunting that was on offer in Washington meant that human food wasn't strictly necessary, but I knew Jake preferred to eat human, so we would need to stock up heavily to accommodate his appetite. Jake and I continued upstairs to bed. I glanced at the clock on my bedside table once we were in our bedroom, to discover that it was already past 10 o'clock. "Wow, I didn't know it was that late." I said in surprise to Jake.

"Yeah, it's been a long day." It was easy to see that Jake was tired. I wondered idly how far he and Leah had actually run. Further than I had, that's for sure. I walked into the wardrobe, putting the blemished dress, folded, on a chair. I would have to put it in the bin tomorrow. I grabbed a pair of the pyjamas that Alice had bought me; a pair of peach silk shorts and a matching vest. It seemed a shame to only sleep in garments like these. I crawled under the duvet and cuddled up to Jacob. He was roasting, but it didn't bother me, I was almost as hot as he was. He fell asleep quickly, his snoring light at first, but it grew heavier within minutes. I closed my eyes and listened to hear whether my parents had left for the cottage yet or not. I could just hear Mom saying goodnight to Esme and then the light closing of the glass doors at the back of the house. I sighed contentedly to myself. Everything felt perfect. I fell asleep thinking about how happy I was.


	9. Old Friends

---------------------------------------------------------- Old Friends -------------------------------------------------------------

"Jake, I hardly think you'll need more than 5 bags of chips. The store isn't going anywhere, we can always come back for more." He looked at me with an expression that showed, quite clearly, he wasn't open for negotiations. He bundled the 8 bags of chips into the trolley and began towing it towards the soda. I huffed a sigh and dragged myself along behind him. It was a good thing I had brought Dad's credit card with me, Jake's food shopping wasn't going to be inexpensive. I watched the other shoppers get an eyeful of Jake as he loaded the groceries onto the belt at the checkout. It was a relatively sunny day in Forks, uncharacteristically warm. Jake was only sporting a pair of combat shorts and a vest, and his muscles looked intimidating, despite his large smile which was clearly friendly. One man in particular stared unashamedly at Jacob, gawking actually, with an almost disbelieving stare. Jake saw me gazing at the man and followed suit. The blonde haired man just stared back. He was maybe in his early thirties, and looked like he may have been quite pretty, by human standards. Jake looked uncomfortable under the man's gaze, but there was something else there as well. Worry?

"Sorry, do I know you?" Jake asked the man warily. He seemed to jump out of his trance at hearing Jake's voice.

"Oh, um, no, sorry. I thought… sorry, you look like someone I used to know." His eyes were full of apologies. He looked away from Jake, toward me, to apologise with his eyes again. But then he stopped. He stared at me more pointedly than at Jake. His eyes widened significantly and his mouth fell open. I cringed from his gaping.

"Mike," a woman said, approaching him. She had unruly, thick curly hair that hung to her shoulders. In the baby seat of the trolley she was pushing sat a small baby, no older than a year. It looked lazily around itself. The man blinked repeatedly and turned to look at her. She glanced at me with a confused expression. "Something up?" She looked at him.

"No," he said, dazed. "No, no, lets go." They walked away towards another cashier. The man whispered to his partner, "Jess, does that girl look familiar to you?" His whisper was laced with an almost urgency. The woman glanced back at me again, trying to be discreet by hiding behind her thick curls.

"I don't think…" her eyes narrowed infinitesimally, "wait… she kinda look's like… do you remember Bella Swan?" I started at the mention of my mothers name. Especially because the woman used my mothers maiden name.

"Exactly, that's what I thought. But… she looks kinda like Cullen too." He said in amazement to the woman. They both looked back, and I was immediately panic stricken. I realised I had been frozen since the man, Mike, had mentioned my Mom. I unfroze quickly and moved toward Jake, who was handing the cashier my Dad's bank card.

"Jake! Jake." I said in an critical whisper. "Jake, did you hear that couple?!"

"Yeah." He sighed under his breath, not moving his eyes to look at me.

"What do we do?" I was worried by his unperturbed attitude.

"Nothing, Ness." He laughed slightly. "They're just a bit shaken, they don't actually think anything of your resemblance to your parents." He smiled at me.

"Huh," I huffed. I looked to find them. They were a couple of booths down, packing their groceries, almost oblivious to me. "Do you know them?" I asked Jake as we headed out towards the car.

"Em, the guy looked kinda familiar. I think he was a friend of you Mom's at school." Jake smiled slightly at a memory, and I pursed my lips at him. He just shook his head, loading the bags, and then himself, into the car.

…

"You gonna eat all those chips Colin, or you gonna let us have some too?" Brady teased Colin from across the table. A quick flash of irritation crossed Colin's face before he surrendered the bag of chips to Seth, who was reaching out for them. The sun was setting in the distance and there was a slight chill in the air, but nothing that a jumper couldn't combat, and certainly it meant nothing to the warmer members of the group. The two packs had all gathered for dinner in Emily and Sam's back garden. It was good to see everyone together so harmoniously. All the wolves were there. Colin and Brady, Seth and Leah, Embry. And then the imprinted partners. Claire was there with Quil. It was very good to see Claire again. She had just passed her 18th birthday and looked just as happy and cheerful with Quil as ever. The others were older now. Kim sat across from me, Jared by her side, one arm around her shoulders. Kim looked well, glowing as most expectant mothers did. Despite only being in her second trimester, her belly had expanded hugely. I guess that's what you had to deal with when you were expecting twins. Rachael sat relaxing on Kim's other side, watching fondly as Paul chased their 3 year old son, Daniel, around the garden. Both Paul and Jared, like Sam, had began to stop phasing, beginning to slowly start the ageing process again. They were all in their early thirties now. It was mind boggling, and also quite upsetting, to watch them age that way while the others remained young. I slowly took in everyone's expressions as I looked around the table. Everyone had wide smiles on their faces, chatting casually to each other. It was a lot easier than I expected it to be, having both packs (and Alphas) together, but they found it very easy, it seemed, at least while in human form. However, there was one face, sitting slightly detached from the circle, that didn't look so happy. Toby sat slouched in his chair, staring at his knees. Frowning really. I couldn't imagine how he must be feeling. Like Jacob had guessed, Sam passed on his title to his son, so now Toby was left to be in charge of the entire pack. Of course, he was still training right now. Learning from the others while he got the ropes. But he was so young, 13 years old. He didn't look it. Already he was beginning to grow. His figure was that of a well built 17 year old, and he was still maybe only half way through his growth spurt. It abruptly made me very sad. Toby looked up and caught me gazing at him in my reverie. I smiled timidly at him. He smiled back, but his eyes were still conflicted. Jake squeezed my waist.

"You okay?" he whispered in my ear. I turned away from Toby to look up into Jake's eyes.

"Yeah," I said weakly, "Yeah, just thinking. And you?"

"Great." He smiled. "This food is really great Emily. I forgot how good a cook you were." He addressed Emily. The others murmured in agreement. She smiled back at him.

"You don't visit often enough." Leah said, as she took a seat beside Toby.

"It is good to have you back," Embry added. "To have everyone together."

"I guess one good thing came out of this mess, then." Toby spoke for the first time since we had sat down, his tone bitterly humoured. Sam gave a great sigh.

"I just wished we knew what had caused it." Jared sighed. There was a brief silence while everyone thought about Toby's implications.

Seth broke the silence. "Are we going for a run then?" He asked in a cheery tone. Colin and Brady immediately perked up. Jake stood up and sighed, walking round to where Seth sat.

"Well… I guess…" his voice was quiet and thoughtful, but it immediately gained volume "If you can keep up!!" And Jake sprinted off into the forest. The three boys were on their feet immediately, exclaiming with joy under their breaths as the chased into the forest after him. Colin, in an attempt to gain the lead, didn't bother phasing in the trees, but instead burst into his wolf form at the edge of the garden, leaving scraps of clothes behind him. Embry, Leah and Toby all stood up too, jogging towards where the others had disappeared. Quil looked into Claire's eyes, pleading.

"Go on." She laughed, and he rose too, following his friends.

The rest of us all stayed where we were, laughing at the wolves happy-go-lucky attitude. I was sure Jake had just acted the was he did to lighten the mood of the party.

"It's really good to see you, Nessie." Claire said to me.

"You to Claire. It's also kind of strange. I can't believe how old you are now. A woman." We laughed.

"Not really." She laughed. "But you know what's even weirder? I'm technically older than you?" She made a face, and so did I. I hadn't really ever thought about it before, but yes, Claire was older than me. Yet I've been an adult now for years, and she was just on the fringes of it. "I hope you'll be able to stay a while."

"Me to. I miss this place. La Push, Forks. It's nice to be home." We both smiled at each other. Just then a loud howl came from the forest. I recognised it at once. Jared, Paul and Sam all got to their feet and began toward the trees, but I was already paces ahead of them. We all sprinted through the trees together and were at Jake's side within a matter of minutes. All the wolves were there in their wolf forms and the small space we had gathered in was very crowded. Jake stood, in his human for, ready to explain to the four of us.

"Can you smell that?" He asked us. I focused on trying to identify any new scents, but all I could smell were the wolves and me.

"I don't smell anything out of place…" I said, confused. I noticed that all of the wolves' eyes were on me.

"Wait… no, I can smell that." Jared said. "It smells like… you." He looked at me.

Both Paul and Sam nodded in agreement. Now everyone in the clearing was looking at me. I felt very pressurised.

"It does smell like you, Ness, as a human." He qualified. "But as a wolf, it smells like something else. Like you but… different." He gave me a serious look.

"But… I haven't been here." I stated dumbly.

"Remember that trail that Leah and I found last night? Your trail." I nodded. "And I asked if you were wearing perfume, because it smelled different? Well, this is the same smell. It's just like you, but…. It's not the same as you." His brow ruffled as he tried to explain. I focused harder, and then I could smell it. It smelled like my clothes, like my hair, but… floral. With a more lilac smell to it.

"So, it wasn't my trail you found last night?" I asked.

"No. It was this trail."

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"I don't know."

Every one fell silent. What on earth was going on? Who, or what, had left this trail in the forest? There were a few minutes of silence before anyone spoke.

"Seth, Quil, Embry. Split up and cover the range to see if you can find anything else." Jake ordered. "Leah, you and I will search the forests near the Cullen's place to see if we can relocate those trails." As Jake's pack headed into the woods, Toby, Colin and Brady headed in the other direction, obviously at some sort of silent command from Toby.

"Call if you find anything." Were Sam's parting words to Jake, and then Sam, Jared and Paul headed back towards the garden party. It was strange how all the happiness had faded into straight business in less than 15 minutes. Jake took me hand and then we were running through the forest back towards home, Leah running beside us. One minute Jacob was running beside me, then next it was a giant red-brown wolf. We all picked up the pace a little.

As we neared the great white house Leah split from Jake and I, running faster - at her own pace - to make a wide loop around the house. Jake ran me straight to the front lawn before turning to look me in the eyes.

"Come back soon." I said to him firmly. But my eyes were filled with worry. He sighed and moved to rub his nose against my cheek. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him there. "Be careful." I sighed and then pulled away. He gazed at me for a long moment and then turned and ran away. My shoulders slumped and I headed toward the front door. As soon as I opened it I was met by the gaze of 8 beautiful statues, which all turned to concerned expressions at almost exactly the same moment. I turned to close the door, and when I turned back Dad was at my side.

"What happened?" he asked anxiously. I sighed and then pressed my hand to his face,


	10. Distractions

------------------------------------------------------------ Distractions -----------------------------------------------------------

Jake sat beside me on the sofa, his head resting against my shoulder, lightly snoring. It was the second time he had fallen asleep this morning. He didn't get back until roughly 2.30 in the morning the night before. Although I wasn't suffering from the sleep deprivation (I hadn't been able to sleep at all before he had come safely home) Jacob's body had taken a hit from the sheer amount of running he had done with Leah. They scanned every inch of a roughly 30 mile radius from the house, but only found one more trail, which had been ruined by natural forces and was almost completely useless - but it was there.

"Oh man, I wish we could just find what ever is leaving these trails. I'm dying for a real good fight!" Emmet enthused. Both Rosalie and myself threw him a irritated glance. The majority of my family had also searched last night once I was asleep - or so they thought - in bed, but their attempts had also been fruitless. So now we were left, routinely scanning the forest, jumpy and anxious. Or at least I was.

"When did Carlisle and Dad say they'd be back?" I demanded.

" Not till 11. Renesmeee, calm down. If they find anything, they'll come straight here first." Mom tried to appease me, but she didn't completely disguise the worry in her eyes that she felt for Dad, searching for trails as we spoke.

"And there is no need to suspect that whoever is in the forest is dangerous. They haven't attacked either us or the Quileutes yet. That probably means they don't intend to." Esme reasoned. I wished I could have as much optimism as she seemed to. My leg never stopped twitching the entire time, my knee rapidly rising and falling. After a few moments of silence, Rose got up and headed in the direction of the garage, and Emmet followed closely behind her. I glanced at the clock. 10 past 10. My leg moved faster. Mom moved across and sat down on my others side, putting her hand gently on my knee, stopping the jerking.

"Stop. It's fine. No need to over react." I just nodded severely. She smiled and then reached for her book. I glanced out the window, searching the trees for any sign of movement. I don't know how long I sat, unblinking, staring out at the green wall of cedars, but before long I could see Dad and Carlisle making their way across the river and towards the house. I heard Esme sigh as she heard them too, putting her sketchpad down and heading towards the back window. As they made their way through the door and into the large room, Alice, Jasper, Emmet and Rose joined us all, coming to hear the report. We all looked at their faces expectantly. Carlisle just shook his head lightly. He looked very concerned.

"Nothing new." He sighed. Everyone stood frozen for a moment, each thinking critical thoughts.

_Dad. What's going on? I'm worried._ I projected at my father, my eyes never moving from his face. As soon as I mentally called him he met my gaze. He just gave me a pained look and then shook his head fiercely, breaking away from my stare. I huffed a sharp sigh, forgetting about Jake resting on my shoulder. He woke up with a jolt, his back going ramrod straight.

"What?! What'd I miss?!" He mumbled in a half-conscious daze.

"Thunder!!" Alice exclaimed abruptly, completely out of the blue, speaking for the first time.

"What?" Both myself and Emmet asked her, everyone else just looking at her questioningly.

"Thunder." She said more quietly. "There's going to be a storm." Her brow was furrowed.

"When?" Mom asked.

"Today. Soon." Her face took on a look of complete concentration. "It won't rain though. There will only be thunder. I.." she stuttered. "I can't tell how long it will last." She gave an exasperated sigh as her brow smoothed out. Jasper's face became animated.

"I think we need a distraction." He said, looking specifically at me. I could guess why. He must have been reading my emotions and could plainly feel how worked up I was. Dad read his thoughts and was on the same wavelength in a second.

"What does everyone say to a little game of baseball?" He smiled.

"Sweet. It's about time we had another game. I still owe you a thrashing from the last time." Emmet smiled as he punched my Dad in the shoulder. Everyone seemed to brighten up a little at the prospect of some light hearted sport, but Mom shot a glance at me, assuming that it was constructed for my benefit.

_This is ridiculous. There are more important things to be worried about._

I told her. She came over and stood beside me.

"Wrong." She smiled.

"There is nothing to be worried about, which is exactly why we are going to play, to prove it to you." Dad interjected. Alice shot to my side.

"You have sportswear upstairs." She looked pointedly at me, "Go make good use of it." I lifted myself from the sofa, pulling Jake with me, scowling and grumbling the entire way up to my closet.

I located the 'sportswear' Alice had made reference to - lying neatly folded ready for me on my bed. I wondered where Alice had these stored, I didn't remember unpacking them. Tight fitting, purple and gold, lycra sport leggings with a matching hoodie and top - and matching gold high top trainers. Not exactly what I had in mind, but I didn't want to get on Alice's bad side, so I conceded with good grace and changed into the clothes. True enough, they did allow me to move easily but they were bit… Harlem for me. Jake appraised my outfit, a strange look on his face as he looked me up and down.

"Well…" he said, a laugh in his voice.

"Leave me alone." I scowled.

"No, you look… just different, that's all. I'd go to the gym if you were gonna be there." He smiled teasingly at me. I just stared him down, envying his shorts and tank top combo. I stamped my way out of the room and across the hallway into Esme's study, not even pausing before sliding the glass out of my way and jumping out the window into the garden. Jake gave a chuckle and followed behind me. The others were already waiting in the garden. I noticed that Alice and Jasper were the only others who had changed their clothes. My parents eyed me and I could read from their faces exactly what they were thinking as they appraised my outfit and aerobatic stunt.

"The stairs too much for you, Ness?" Emmett taunted. I growled and then crouched in preparation to launch myself at him. He took off like a shot, but I was right behind him. Everyone else began to run as well, following behind us. Once we made it into the trees I took advantage; because of his size, Emmett was fractionally slower in the forest. At the first chance I got I launched myself at his unprotected back, landing my feet on his upper back and my hands on his shoulders.

"Gottcha!" I laughed as I pushed off against his torso and flung myself ahead of him, messing his hair in the process. He rumbled behind me and I glanced back to see his heated expression. As I tried to pick up my pace, to force myself to run my fastest in escape, I heard the sound of Rose pounce to my left. I looked over my shoulder to see her take a sideways pounce at Em, laughing hysterically when she derailed him from his course for me. She looked back at me and winked, catching pace with me quickly. I could hear my entire family's laughter.

"Right, that's IT!" Emmett roared. Crap. Emmett came charging after us, and I was quickly aware that Alice was in the tree's above me, barely touching the limbs as she soared through the air. Dad joined close behind me on the right, a huge grin on his face. He didn't overtake me though, and I could see the plan. Irritate Em by confusing and taunting him. It never failed. As Em gained behind me, inching closer and closer, Dad changed course and ran straight in front of him, pushing his head as he darted away. Emmett growled and flung himself at my father, but Dad was too fast and Emmett was left stumbling and further behind. Jake came powering towards me then.

"Come on." He shouted at me, grabbing my arm and throwing me over his back. He ran faster with me on his back than I had alone, and soon we were a safe distance from Emmett. He let me down then, so that I could run beside him, but we both slowed to a natural run rather than a sprint, following Carlisle. Since he had been carrying the baseball bat, I assumed he knew where we would be playing.

I assumed correctly. Within 5 minutes we ran out of the forest and into a huge open pitch, almost half the size of the town. The range was speckled with little playing fields like this one but I thought I recognised this ground from another time that we had played sports together - the time Carlisle had attempted to teach Jake and I how to play Rugby. I didn't enjoy it much; playing against vampires like Emmett and Jasper, and actually being able to **feel** pain, it probably wasn't the best activity for me, so now I just avoided most heavy duty contact sports.

Carlisle and Esme walked into the middle of the field, Jake and I following. The others came quickly after us, wide smiles playing on most of their faces - a huge scowl on Emmett's.

"How long do we have to wait, Alice?" Mom called. Alice stalked across the grass towards us, her smile wiped from her face, replaced by a delicate frown.

"Soon." Was all she said. Afraid of upsetting, or possibly embarrassing, her I projected my question silently.

_Can you see exactly, like minutes and seconds? _Usually Alice was far more competent and exact when it came to time schedules. She just looked at me and shook her head very slightly. My eyes were worried and, as I looked to Dad - who I guessed had heard my question - his eyes mirrored mine.

"Right," Carlisle beckoned us to pay him attention, "Who's playing who?"

"Well, it's even numbers. Esme," my Dad looked to his mother, "you'll have to play." There was an apology in his words somewhere, but his look was teasing.

"Don't think that it means I won't be looking out for fouls and cheating." She teased straight back. Emmett opened his mouth to say something, but Esme interrupted him. "On both sides." She addressed him. His mouth closed and his face fell.

"Boys versus girls?" I suggested. The boys looked at each other with faces that could be clearly read _'We'll thrash them.'_

"Sounds like a good idea." Jasper agreed. We split off into our groups, the boys laughing together. I'm sure they assumed, what with Dad's mind reading and all of their strengths, that it would be an easy victory. However, we had a few tricks up our sleeves.

"Hey, Mom," I asked lightly, but with a tone that made the boys stop and turn around, "What do you say to evening up the playing field a little?" She smiled at me, and then wrapped her shield around us all - everyone but Edward. Now Dad wouldn't even be able to mentally co-ordinate with his team members. There was a rumble of thunder then, and it perfectly matched the expression on my telepathically repressed fathers face. "Lets play." I smiled.


	11. Blind

---------------------------------------------------------------- Blind -----------------------------------------------------------------

"Nice one Rose," I complemented my Aunt as she ran into 4th base.

"3rd home run so far." She smiled back at me. Alice was next up to bat and Jasper eyed her from his place as pitcher. He whirled the ball at her, but she anticipated his curveball and smacked it straight into the forest with the bat. I could hear her light laughter as she ran round the park. But Dad was fast and caught the ball with lightning speed, bulleting it at Jake out on third. If Alice made it to 4th next run, we'd be ahead of the boys on runs. I was next to bat. With a smile, I took the bat and readied myself. _Let's have some fun with this one, huh Alice?_ I proposed. I could see her smile at me, and I got ready for my game. I met Jaspers stare, eyeing him. He wasn't like Alice when he pitched, not as sharp and unexpected, although he did attempt to throw me off his trail. He tried to psyche me out with his scowls and twitches. When he did eventually throw the ball, I was already worked up by his tormenting.

"Strike one." Carlisle called from behind me. I cussed into the soil, but swung the bat up again, tightening my grip on the handle. A smirk played on Jasper's face. Huh. He could laugh all he wanted. Soon, I'd be the one smiling.

He hurled the ball at me again, barely any hesitation this time, and I caught it with the strongest part of the bat. It flew through the air, not quite into the trees, but certainly close. But it didn't really matter how far I could bat the ball. Not this round. As I began running round the pitch I focussed very pointedly on the 3 fielders I needed to fool. I projected the same picture to all three of them. As the ball actually flew out to the far right of the pitch, they saw it heading for the inner fringes, between 2nd and 3rd. Each of them, seeing the easy catch, ran towards the ball, all looking straight up to where they saw it falling. Carlisle an Jazz stood with bemused expressions on their faces, watching their team mates hammer towards each other, in the wrong direction. I ran past the three of them, and into third, in enough time to hear the loud crash as they knocked into each other. I turned my head as I jogged into fourth where Alice, Esme, Rose and Mom were all standing watching the boys scramble on the ground, looking at each other in confusion, and then shoot us the same look. There was a loud break of thunder before then the five of us burst into laughter. The boys picked themselves of the ground quickly, brushing themselves off. Carlisle chuckled a little as Esme walked past him smiling, and Jazz just shook his head, looking at the soil. Jake ran over to where the ball actually was. I noticed him rubbing at his right arm.

_You okay?_

He looked at me, frowning.

_Sorry._ I apologised. And I was sorry, sorry that he was hurt and it was, partially, my fault. I ran over to him.

"Is it broken?" I asked him, concern in my voice.

"No," he sulked, "Not now anyway. I think it might have been fractured."

"Sorry." I said again. I smiled sheepishly at him. He looked at me with a frown, sighed, and then smiled back.

"Just go back to your team so that we can beat you and get this over with." He mocked.

"We'll see about that." I smiled, and then darted back across the field. Mom stepped up to the plate, bat held almost dangerously beside her. I could see Jasper working up to his pitch and Mom's fingers flexed around the bat handle. But just then an unbroken stream of sunlight floated down into the clearing, illuminating Jazz. He straightened up and looked up to where the clouds had broken. Everyone else echoed his actions, and then all looked to Alice. Her face was confused.

"But… I didn't… It was supposed to be…." she stuttered, and then sighed. "That's it. There isn't going to be any more thunder." Alice's lapses in vision were beginning to frighten me. It seemed that the others were concerned as well. Carlisle went and stood beside her, resting his hand lightly on her shoulder, comforting her. Mom and Dad exchanged a cryptic glance. Jake came and stood beside me, taking my hand.

"Well, I guess you guys win then." He sighed. The tension eased a little.

"Let's get back then." Jazz said, wrapping his arm around Alice's shoulder. We walked towards the woods, retracing the path we had taken to get to the area.

"Perhaps I should call Eleazar." Carlisle wondered, speaking to Alice. "He would maybe be able to shed some light on your condition." Alice's head was bowed towards the earth. She clearly wasn't happy, and I could understand why. Her vision was becoming blurry - things were beginning to slip. "If you think it would help." Carlisle added. Alice didn't answer. She shrugged out from Jaspers hold and launched herself into the trees. Even the way she was moving through the canopy expressed her mood; she wasn't as fluid, as elegant as she usually was. There was only a fractional change, but it was there. Jasper followed her through the trees but the rest of the party ran on the ground. No games this time, just travelling home.

Jake's hand was very warm on mine. It was strange that I would notice that though. Usually I didn't really, we were both so warm it didn't bother me. As if he could tell what I was thinking, he answered my thought in a low aside.

"You're cold because you're worried." I looked at him, mystified by his statement. He smiled at me lightly and then held up our intertwined hands. "You also let things slip when you're worried." I smiled too, but it was only a brief moment of a good feeling, the smile faded quickly. I hadn't realised that I had let Jake know that I was mulling over his skin being hot. We ran in silence, all of us. I could hear Mom was the closest to me, on my right, opposite from Jake, running a parallel line with me. Alice, directly above me, made barely a whisper as she hit the branches. The leaves didn't even quiver. I wondered if Jake was hungry. Probably, he was always hungry. I considered whether or not to make him dinner when we got back. I wouldn't be eating with him; I wasn't hungry. Now that the day's frivolities were over I couldn't focus on anything but worrying. Worrying for Alice, worrying about the mysterious trails, worrying about the wolves and the vampires stalking after the creatures. It was during this worrying that the strangest, and worst, things could have happened.

Slightly ahead of me, Alice in the trees made a large cracking noise. This enough would have been eerie - Alice didn't make noises. No one made noises. But then, 15ft ahead of me Alice crashed through the branches and smashed onto the forest floor. She lay completely still as the branches that were broken as she fell plummeted to the ground around her. Everyone was frozen, even Jake. It took me less than a thousandth of a second to rush to her side.

"ALICE!" I screamed. I collapsed to my knees at her side grasping at her arms. She lay still like a rock. Jasper was beside me then, reaching for her face. His hands moved her gently into an embrace and she lay, like a statue in his arms. I caught sight of her eyes then. They were blank, strangely blank. It frightened me. It was the single most terrifying thing I had ever seen. The space above me was crowded now, everyone closely packed. Carlisle knelt down beside me.

"Can you hear me Alice. Alice, can you hear me?" Carlisle's desperation was breaking through his voice as he looked Alice directly in the eyes. Jasper looked into Carlisle's face, and I caught sight of his expression. He looked as though he was being torn apart, beaten, cut with knives and dipped in acid. He was tortured - tormented. He choked out a sob.

"Carlisle, what's happened?" The breath caught in his throat. He was crying.

Carlisle just looked at Jasper, not able to answer him.

"Edward! Edward, what does she see?" Mom shouted in agony at my Dad. There was no reply. I was staring into Alice's tombstone face. Dad's delay disconcerted me.

"DAD!!!" I screamed at him.

Alice spoke then.

"It's gone."

"ALICE! Oh Alice. Alice, can you hear me? Are you okay Alice?" Jasper's pleas had no effect on Alice's expression.

"It's gone." She moaned.

"What?" I demanded. "Dad?! What's gone?!!" I looked at my dad then.

In his eyes there was a ghost of the expression Alice wore.

"Her… her…." He struggled with the words. "The Future. It's… gone." His statement sounded like a question. Esme made a low gasp.

"Can that…" I stuttered. "Can that happen? She couldn't just… lose it." I reasoned, uncomprehendingly. Alice couldn't have lost her gift. None of us could lose our gifts, could they? Alice seemed to surface back to us, clutching at Jasper's shirt.

"Jasper?" She muttered. He gripped her hands and spoke with a strained voice into her ear.

"I'm right here. It's okay. I'm here."

"Alice." Carlisle said in a firm voice. Her eyes turned to his face. "What was the last thing you saw?"

"I was…" She paused, confusion written on her features. "I was looking to see what was going to happen this afternoon." She spoke in a quiet whisper. "And then… it was gone. Everything. It's all gone." She whimpered again. There was a short moment of silence.

"Alice?" Mom addressed her. I'd never heard my Mom use the tone she did now. Her voice was tense, unhappy. "Alice, when you saw me jump, was it the same?" She asked.

Alice looked at her with a pained face.

"Was it the same, Alice?" She asked again. Alice looked at her for another long moment, and then her brow crumpled and she nodded.

"Yes," she sobbed in a whisper, "it's the same. Darkness." A cry escaped Esme's lips. Everyone was as still as statues, apart from Alice, Esme and Jasper whose bodies moved with silent sobs. At first I didn't understand what my Mom and Alice's discussion had been in reference too - what had caused the fear to effect everyone, even Jake, silent at my side. But then it slowly focussed. A sharp pain stabbed inside me. When Mom had jumped. Off a cliff. When Mom's future disappeared. When Alice thought my Mom was dead.

"We can't go back." I exclaimed. "We'll go somewhere else. La Push, Denali. Anywhere!" I rambled hysterically.

"It doesn't matter." Alice argued in a small voice. "It's all gone. Everything. I can't see any of us - anywhere. Even somewhere else. It's all gone." Her voice broke at the end. She clutched her arms around Jasper's neck and he pulled her off the ground and into his arms. He wasn't crying dryly any more. Now his face was the same as the rest of my family's. Hard as stone, concerned, and sad. Unbearably sad. There was a very long silence. No one knew what to say.

Rosalie broke the stillness. "We have to go back." No one answered her. "To the house." she elucidated.

"Is that a good idea?" My Mom asked.

Carlisle looked at my Dad. His answering look gave nothing away. Carlisle sighed and then spoke in a tense voice.

"We should go back to the house." He judged the expressions that my family gave him. "If Alice's vision is gone everywhere then the nowhere is safe until we find out why. The house is our safest ground." Carlisle's assessment was sound. "And it will allow me to phone Eleazar. I need to speak with him urgently." He shot a look at Alice, and then he turned his back and started towards the house. Esme took his hand and we all followed behind them, Rose and Emmett's arms locked around each other's waist's, Dad's arm holding Mom tightly against his body, Alice nuzzled up against Jasper's chest in his arms, and Jake and I, our hands bound tightly together. We ran to the house, but at a competitively slow pace than usual.

"I don't know what to do." Jake whispered to me. I looked up into his face. "I don't whether to phase or not." His face was torn between his alternatives - phase and tell his pack to join us to face the danger, if there was any, which as yet we didn't know and possibly miss vital information inside the house, or not phase and be attacked unprepared, not leaving enough time for the pack to get to us and help.

_Don't let yourself get more than 1 inch away from me, wolf or human._ was all I could tell him. He smiled as best as he could.

"Not a chance." He answered. Everyone was silent then as we ran through the forest, terrified. We were close to the house, I could hear the river within less than a quarter of a mile, when Emmett stopped abruptly.

"Stop!" He shouted. We rapidly formed a loose circle around him, our eyes questioning. "do you smell that?" Everyone drew a breath. There were a mixture of reactions. Mom gasped, Rosalie, Dad and Jacob all growled, and Japer let out a hiss.

"It's the creature." Carlisle said. "It's here." A wide grin stretched across Emmett's face. He bolted for the house, us all quickly running behind him.

"Emmet!" Rosalie screamed. "NO!!!!" Emmett broke through the trees and tore through the water of the river at the bottom of the white house's garden.

As we escaped the tree's as well, we first caught sight of them.

7 figures, standing at the edge of our house, looking straight at us. The 9 of us froze instantaneously - even my father, who had been almost about to tackle my burly uncle to the ground, stopped dead where he was standing.

We watched Emmett charge towards them.


	12. Hybrids

--------------------------------------------------------------- Hybrids --------------------------------------------------------------

Emmett must have noticed we weren't following behind him, heard us stop moving. But he didn't stop charging.

"Stop." One of the figures commanded him. He didn't.

Another of the figures stepped ahead of the one who had spoken. "You don't want to attack us!" He yelled at my aggressive Uncle. The voice wasn't commanding though. It sounded more like a plea. I instantly believed the boy who had spoken, but I didn't think Emmett would.

But Emmett did stop. He slowed to a light jog and then stopped altogether. Standing almost exactly half way between us and the other 7 immortals.

And they were immortals.

It was clear to me, even from this distance, that I knew what these creatures were. The creamy skin, the light blush on their cheeks, and their accelerated heartbeats all gave them away for what they were. Not human, not vampires.

Like me.

Hybrids.

No body moved for a long moment. Not us and not them. We all just stood, measuring each other. I tried to judge the group. From the way they stood, it looked like the one who had spoken first was their leader. His hair fell messily to his shoulders and was black as pitch; it contrasted severely with his skin tone. He wasn't the tallest, and not the strongest by far - on his left side stood a boy of a similar size to Emmett - but he had a mature and weighty look in his eyes as he examined us, and the way he stood slightly ahead of the others in a guarded fashion showed that he intended to protect them. Certainly, his sharp features frightened me. The other six, comparatively, looked normal. Apart from their beauty, they were all dressed in average clothes and looked like a very human grouping. 3 boys and 3 girls. To the left of the brawny boy stood the boy who had encouraged my Uncle to stop his attack. He stood closely to one of the girls in the group. The pair were without doubt the most beautiful of the group, possibly the most beautiful of all of us, even Rosalie. They had light brown hair that was slightly waved. Though the boy's was cropped quite short, the girl's flowed past her shoulders and stopped at the middle of her back. Their features were uncommonly similar, and I grasped quickly their relationship: twins.

On the right side of the leader, stood closely by his side, stood a girl with cropped, white blonde hair, just past her ears. Her look was more intelligent, aged somehow. It instantly reminded me of Carlisle. Beside her stood another boy and girl: the boy looked plain - cropped brown hair and wearing a plain hoodie - and the girl looked young. Her hair was a honey yellow and, even in the windless clearing, looked like it was being blown by a slight breeze.

But there was no breeze. In fact, the weather reflected perfectly the tension of the encounter. It was dense, the air muggy and pressurised. I was aware that I should feel more stressed than I actually did feel, but put that down to Jasper's doing. And then, after I had examined the group, I examined the situation.

Were these 7 barley adult looking figures what would end Alice's visions of our futures? Were we about to die?

Just as the fear of this realisation hit me, Dad took a step forward. My breath caught in my throat. Was dad going to attack? But then I considered, Dad would be able to hear the Hybrid's thoughts, wouldn't he? He would only approach them if he thought they were safe, if he thought they could be trusted… right?

He took another step forward, and then turned slightly to us. In an almost unbelieving voice he said "It's alright. They won't attack us." And then moved again towards Emmett. After hearing Dad's assessment, Rosalie blurred out of vision and ran to Emmett's side, taking his hand in a firm grip and scorning him with her eyes. We followed, slower, but still swiftly to where they stood. As we moved closer to the visitors, the sun broke through the clouds, shining onto the house, and glistening off my relatives. The Hybrid's didn't even react, but the young looking one, the blonde, was smiling. We grew closer, and still no one spoke. Dad cleared his throat.

"I think an explanation is in order." He spoke to the black haired boy. His tone wasn't unfriendly, which I found surprising. It was almost… amused.

"Yes," the boy replied, a tight smile on his face, though his expression remained serious. He sighed, and the stepped forward. "I'm sorry that we have come to you like this, without warning, but we didn't know the best way to introduce ourselves." His voice was deep, and profound. It sounded like Jacob, when he spoke as an Alpha. "My name is Arnaud." he continued, "We are, as I assumed you have guessed, half species - like Renesmeee." I started as he spoke my name knowingly. It seemed I wasn't the only one. But he didn't stop speaking. "And we have come to ask for your help." He said solemnly.

There was a moment of silence.

"Our help?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes." Arnaud answered. He paused, and then added in a very grave tone, "Your help with overthrowing the Volturi."


	13. Soldiers

--------------------------------------------------------------- Soldiers -------------------------------------------------------------

There was a great silence. No body spoke. No body moved. If everyone else felt the way I did, they couldn't even think. What was going on? Firstly, astonishingly, 7 hybrids turn up together and ambush us at our home. A grouping of 7 was unusually odd for any of my families species, but of my species? I wasn't even aware more than 7 of us even existed! And then they ask us for our help? Our help in an attempt at anarchy, to depose the Volturi? My mind was in such a state of shock that I couldn't even mentally scream at my father to explain what was going on.

Carlisle spoke. "I don't know who you are, and I expect that you will explain yourselves, but if you think that you can over power the Volturi you are in over your heads. They are not a force to be wrangled with. Either you don't understand fully the consequences of such a mission, or you ask us, as strangers, to die in a fight that is lost before it is even begun." Carlisle's voice was barely more than a whisper and, although it wasn't meant to be severe or hostile, his speech sent a shiver down my spine. The vague ghost of a nightmare slipped into my mind - a group of caped figures, standing opposite my family in a snowy clearing. I shook the memory from my mind.

"We understand that our request seems wholly unfathomable, but we ask you to not completely refuse until you have heard our story. I expect your opinions will change somewhat." Arnaud explained. My father gasped then. My eyes turned to his face, written in panic. His features looked both surprised and disgusted.

He looked at my mother, who had the same expression as me as she stared at him in alarm, and then at Carlisle. "I'm fine." He reassured us. "I can hardly believe…" his gaze turned slowly to Arnaud, who looked back at him weightily. "Let them tell their story." Dad told Carlisle without moving his gaze from Arnaud. Carlisle nodded and then began towards the crossbreeds.

"Come inside," was all he said as he walked past the group and towards the house. Arnaud followed after him, his group close behind him. My family continued after them hesitantly. I clutched Jacob's hand in a tighter grip and headed inside.

Everyone piled into the front room, which was suddenly tightly packed with bodies. My father and my mother sat on the sofa beside Carlisle and Esme. Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rose stood behind them. The hybrids stood opposite them, Arnaud at the front.

"Sit, please." Carlisle motioned to the other chairs in the room. The plainer boy sat on one of the armchairs, and the honey blonde girl sat at his feet on the ground. The large boy sat on the arm of another chair and sprawled, looking far more relaxed than the others. The twins stood close together, the boy with his arms folded over his chest, the girl with one of her arms linked through his. Arnaud remained standing, the intelligent female by his side. I didn't know where to stand. It felt too tense to stand beside my Aunts and Uncles so I went to sit on the floor at the edge of the sofa, towing Jacob with me. We sat down and Jake wrapped an arm around my waist.

Arnaud gauged our expressions, and then began his story.

"Our history is not very long, the eldest of us are no more than ten years old, but our time marks possibly one of the greatest advances in Vampire history. The best way to describe what we are is Soldiers. Manufactured to be part of an army. 14 years ago the three Volturi elders and the entire guard came here, to Forks, to deliver a punishment to what they believed were a guilty coven." Again the horror striking image of the cloaked figures filled my head as Arnaud described a scene from my own history. "What they discovered here was something beyond the imaginings of the immortals - crossbreeds. Half-human, half-vampire children." Arnaud gave me a serious look. "Confused and amazed, the elders left this place and your family in peace. But these new discoveries did not lay dormant in their minds for long. Not long after the discovery of Hybrids, Aro sent members of his guard to hunt down another creator of our species, Joham." The white blonde at Arnaud's side stiffened at Joham's name. "Joham was brought back to Volterra, alone and without his daughters, to be questioned by Aro. The other elders, Marcus specifically, expected Aro to scorn the vampire - to punish him for his God complexes. However, Aro had other plans. As I expect you know, Aro covets all manner of rare objects, and the idea of hybrid breeds was no exception to his desires. He had brought Joham to Volterra to learn from him. To learn how to create such beings." Arnaud's voice was powerful and majestic, and the story he was telling was captivating. I was beginning to see where it was going, but my mind didn't want to accept it. "After asking his questions of Joham, Aro began to make arrangements. He called his scheme 'Plan Combinare', the Latin translation meaning 'put two things together'. By the time he exposed his plan to his brothers, Marcus and Caius, it was too late for them to stop him. Aro already had Joham helping his chosen 'breeders' prepare mentally for human/vampire procreation. Not that his brothers put up much of an opposition. Caius agreed with the creation of strong guard members and Marcus was impassive - he has lived with Aro for so long now that none of his far reaching plans surprise him and that there is no use putting up an opposition regardless." Arnaud paused there, his eyes far away. I wanted him to continue his story, wanted to know about the creation of the group standing in front of me. I got my wish. "The mothers were chosen from various members of the public that were brought to the Volturi for feeding, chosen because of their latent abilities. The first group of pregnancies was made up of 3 mothers. Felix, Alec and Joham himself fathered four of the children you see before you. After the success of the births, Joham was killed off - Aro's excuse was that Joham didn't want to join the guard, but knew too much to be allowed to roam freely. Of the 3 mothers, only one was saved. Lilith, an English scholar, turned into a vampire because of her gift - the ability to slice vampire skin wherever she touches them." Esme took in a sharp breath and Arnaud's eyes flickered to her face. "Yes, it's a frightening gift, but she rarely uses it. There aren't many causes for her to." He described in a side remark. "Aro and his guard raised the children to be powerful. They were educated in combat and were taught how to use their powers to acute success. Four years after the first births, 2 more children were fathered, the father's this time were Demetri and Corin. None of the mothers were saved." His tone was sombre. He paused and then sighed before speaking again. "We were raised militarily. We were purely weapons. We weren't loved or nurtured like children should be and we assume that this was deliberate, so that we would be void of emotions that would make us weaker. But, with Joham dead and us being a completely new discovery to Aro, no one realised that being half human meant that we made emotional bonds far easier than vampires. We were companionate, though we were not taught to be. It was a struggle for us to feed on humans so often - they were too much a reflection of ourselves. We all began to feel uncomfortable." I tried to imagine what Arnaud described - feeding on humans. I had tasted human blood, and I could remember the amazingly satisfying taste. But actually feeding straight from a human? I couldn't even imagine it. Arnaud was right - it would be cannibalism for us.

"We have begun to notice," Arnaud continued , "that the Volturi are abusing their power. They are no longer governing - they are dictating. It would seem that Aro learned more than just the art of creating hybrids from his time spent with Joham, but also that Joham's own 'God Complexes' have influenced Aro. We are evidence that Aro no longer wishes to keep the peace between Vampires and Humans, as the Volturi force are built to do, but that he intends to rule. To reign. It is time he was stopped." Arnaud spoke in a firm tone.

Carlisle spoke then. "I don't understand. Why must Aro be stopped? If he were to continue governing the way he has for centuries, what difference will it make? " He asked a fair question. From what I knew of the Volturi they were, for the most part, peacemakers. A good force in the world. What had they done that deserved their eradication from power?

Arnaud opened his mouth to answer Carlisle, but he was not the one who spoke. The plainest looking boy rose from the armchair and came and stood beside Arnaud. His voice was friendly and comforting. Also plain. "We each have gifts that make us useful to the Elders. Strength, intelligence, beauty. And then there are the more unique gifts. You may know my father, Demetri?" My father let out a low hiss. The boy took that as a yes. "He is a tracker - he has the ability to hunt any person. His gift lies not in his senses but in his mind. Well, my gift is the almost opposite of his. Where he finds the things he is looking for, the things I am looking for find me." We met his communicative gaze with empty, confused eyes. "The best way to describe it is, well, if I was stranded in the desert and the one thing I desperately wanted, or needed, was water, I would miraculously come across some in very little time. Do you understand?" I kind of did. I could tell my father understood, and a few other members of my family, but Jake and I just stared back. "Hmmm. Okay, well, what about if I was in the city, and I needed to use the internet. Within a few hours, I would come across a source that was perfect for my needs. Possibly a free internet café, an instantaneous competition where the prize was a laptop with unlimited wireless, I dunno. But that's the principle of it. If I need it, it will find me." He seemed happy with his estimation - a smile was on his face - but I didn't really understand what this had to do with Arnaud's narrative. As if he could hear my query, he continued. "Well, when some of us began questioning the Elder's authority and motivation, I wasn't convinced. Myself and Lizabeth," He pointed to the honey blonde girl sitting on the floor, "we are younger than the others. We were more unwilling to think ill of our 'family'. Before I could believe what Arnaud and Ethena did, I needed evidence." Ethena must have been the girl standing beside Arnaud, the ashy blonde. The way the boy spoke of them like a unit was evident in the way they stood together. "Well, thanks to my gift, I got exactly what I wanted." The boy said in a humourless joke.

"That night, I was walking through the castle and I walked past Aro's parlour. The door was open, which was odd; if Aro was in his study, he would have the door closed and if he wasn't, it would be locked. I was worried that something might have happened so I rushed into the room, looking around myself to see if he was inside. I called his name in a panicked voice, but there was no reply. I thought maybe he had received an urgent message then, so I went to his desk to check. There weren't any paper messages on the desk, so I relaxed. No emergencies. But then I noticed a slip of paper, it's heading showing above the piece of paper that overlapped it." It was maybe just my eyes failing me, but it looked like the boy's eyes grew darker. "The heading read 'Militaria'. I picked the paper up to examine it more closely - as far as I was aware, Aro had no interest in military collectables. But as I read it, I understood. It was a list of names. Names of gifted vampires. I had met a few, and heard of others. You," the boy motioned vaguely towards us, "Alice, Bella and Edward, were on the list." Jasper stiffened and Mom let out a very quiet whine. "'Militaria' - funny joke, huh? I realised then that Arnaud was right. Aro intended to collect every one of the vampires on his list, to add to his legion and I suspected that he would use us in his attempts. We could not be part of such a force." The boy took a step back from his position, allowing Arnaud to be the closest to us again.

There was a dramatic silence as we absorbed the information they had assailed us with. The Volturi were creating a super race and gathering the most powerful vampires to construct an… army. Not that they would ever be challenged.

"Apparently, they will be." Dad broke the silence, speaking directly to me. For a moment, I stared back uncomprehendingly, and then I realised what had happened. Mom wasn't shielding me - perhaps lost in her shock - so Dad had heard my statement. The Hybrids across the room stared between us, confused , like the rest of my family.

"It would be a suicide mission. No one could confront _that._" I argued. The light blonde, Ethena, grasped what we were talking about, and interjected.

"Confronting them won't be easy. It's taken us almost 5 months to even get this far. We searched our vampire histories to see if there was any possible way of stopping the Volturi. The only glimmer of a solution was in the documentation of the previous rulers, only two of whom survived the great fire." I didn't know what the girl was talking about, a great fire? "The Romanian's, Vladimir and Stefan, were the people we escaped the castle to find." The Romanians. I remembered them. A memory came into my mind, of almost translucent beings and scary stories. Something gruesome about eyeballs and gouging. "When we met them, they seemed surprised to meet us, but not as wholly surprised as we expected they would be. You see, they had met others, like us, before." Ethena gave me a significant look. "What happened between your family and ours 14 years ago is not well documented in the Volturi records. It merely said they were summoned here to eradicate criminals, but that there was no justice to be served when they arrived. It does not account that _that_ meeting was the first introduction of Hybrids to the mainstream Vampire community. It does not account that _that_ meeting scared the Guard half out of their wits. The Romanians filled in the holes in our history teachings, and it became clear that, if there was any hope, it would lie with you. The Cullens." Before I could even comprehend what Ethena was saying, Arnaud was speaking again.

"We are sorry to involve you in this. We understand fully the impossibilities of such a mission as to defeat the Volturi, but we have to ask." Arnaud looked almost exasperated as he looked at my family. "We have to ask you to help us." Help them. Help them how exactly? Would they expect my family to travel to Italy with them to fight the Volturi? Or did they just want their advice on the best plan of action? I supposed it didn't matter either way; if the Hybrids were unsuccessful, our involvement would surely make us candidates for criminal execution. I felt the blood rush from my face.

I heard Carlisle speak, but it sounded like it came from the other side of a glass panel - fuzzy and distant. "You must know that if we help you, and you fail…" He drifted off, the words chocking in his throat. Esme whined.

"That is why we must not fail." Arnaud said. There was a silence. "You can choose not to help us, we won't hold it against you, of course. But rest assure, we have very little hope of success alone and if we do fail, Aro will eventually come to claim what he wants. He will fight until he gains you." Arnaud's voice was fervent. I quickly figured what he was trying to communicate. If we did not help, they would lose. If they lost, the Volturi would eventually come and steal or kill my family. But if we did help, there was a chance we could live without the fear of capture. Then again, there was the chance we would all be slaughtered in our attempt at freedom.

"We would never win a fight against them." Jasper spoke suddenly.

"True. It would have to be a mental conquest." My father returned. He then looked to Carlisle, how weighed his expression, and then looked to the cross-breeds.

Carlisle addressed Arnaud. "What did you have in mind?"


End file.
